Coke and coal avalanching chute



March 10, 1931.

H. ADAMS COKE AND COAL AVALA'NCHING CHUTE Filed July 22; 1926 i s Sheets-Sheet 1 0 1 2 2 no 00% 000 w a. 00 oa w u IVY VII/r II all JNVENTOR. r eflelams Fen ATTORNEY March 10', 1931. H. ADAMS COKE AND COAL AV ALANCHING CHUTE Filed July 22, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 III I ll/l/ ]NV1V.T'0R. 27 daams, W ATTORNEY I March 10, 1931.. H, ADAMS 1,795,986

COKE AND COAL AVALANCHING CHUTE Filed July 22, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 68 INVENTOR Henr vfldanzs -ATTOVRNEY Patented Mar. 10, 1931 ice.

HENRY ADAMS OF PLAINFIELD, IJEW -JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T ADAMS CG all HEA- CHINEIRY COMFANY, OE PLAENFIELID, NEW JERSEY, A

ICUT

Application filed July 22,

This invention. relates to a method and means for placing materials in storage and removing them therefrom, and more particularly to means for placing coal or the like in storage with aminimum of breakage, though it is noted that the invention is not limited to fuel storage nor in some respects even to storage.

One object of the invention is to provide in a method and apparatus of this kind'means for preventin spreadin and grinding the material .and artificially avalanching the material to prevent degradation thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus of this kind for eiiiciently' distributing the material in the bin or pocket. 7

7 Another object of the invention is to provide a' method and apparatus ofthis kind wherein the tines areconveniently separated from the coarse material.

The main object-of this invention is to place brittle or friable material, such as coal, coke and the like in storage with minimum breakage. vVhile breakage is unavoidable in the handling of a brittle or friable material such as anthracite coal or coke and the like, the causes of excessive breakage are well known, and in putting such material in storage where high piles are used, excessive breakage is encountered produced, among other causes, by the falling of the pieces of material. This invention relates to the reducing of this breakage to a minimum.

Another object of this invention relates to the building up of piles of coal orcoke eitherfor so-calledground storage or putting the material in pockets, avoiding in both cases any falling of the material being placed in storage, but avalanching the material in such a manner so that the breakage is reduced to a minimum. It has been found by much experimentation that sized coal delivered on a pile adjusts itself by avalanching in masses with but little breakage rather than by in dividual lumps rolling from top to bottom, with the resulting attrition; and this inven- I tion relates to the avalanching of coal forthe building up of a pile of coalor coke in CORPORATION OF CONNECT- COKE-AND COAL AVALANCEING CHUTE 1926. Serial No. 124,189.

storage in either the so-calledground storage or pocket storage.

The placing of coal or coke in storage, especially in piles of considerable height or in pockets, unless the material is carefully hanlled, excessive breakage will occur especially if the material is allowed to drop. In an thracite coal for example exhaustive tests, in dropping coal through measured distances and by dropping carloads into pockets, and carefully screening the* results have been made'showi'ng great degradation; and this invention relates to the prevention of such breakage. T f p o 7 Another object of this invention is to construct means in a simple and economical manner whereby coal, coke and the like can be handledto prevent breakage. Many apparatuses'have been developed in order to lower coal and build up a pile for storage such as the spiral or the so-called lowering telegraph, but all of these cause'excessive degradation, and the main object of this invention is to obtain a means whereby this degradation can be greatly reduced. I

An important object of the invention is to bring about the separation of the fines from the coarse material by the action of the ava lanching of the material. This permitsthe fines and coarser material to be moved through separate openings, so that the coarse materialmaybe delivered clean and free of dust. In the case of coke, the breeze is removed and the coke is placed in storage without fines. Y r

Other objects of the invention are to improve generally the simplicity and efficiency of such devices and methods and to provide an apparatus and method of this kind which are economical and reliable in operation, and an apparatus which is durable, and economical to manufacture. V Still other objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds; and while herein details of the invention are described and claimed, the invention is not limited to these, since many and various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the 'lIlVQIllJlOIl as claimed in the broader claims, 7 I

The inventive features for the accomplishment of this method and these and other objects are shown herein in connection with an improved apparatus which, briefly stated, includes a bin or pocket and means near the middle of one side of the bin for gradually lowering a column of the coal or other material into the tallest and closed edges of a narrow upstanding right triangular enclosure open at its slanting edge. The coal piles up in said enclosure, forming a dead space between said column and said edge, larger pieces avalanching over the outer part of the pile, the fines sinking near the column.

Bafiies disposed across the space confine the material at separated surfaces along the an- 7 gle of repose of the pile along said edge and different distances from the foot of the column to prevent spreading and grinding of the pile and permitting the material to avalanche over said surfaces, whereby the material is released at said slanting edge near the middle of the bin and remote from said column, and then gradually nearer said column as the pile builds up. Gates in the floor of the bin are provided for removing the fines near the foot of the column and larger pieces at the outer side of the dead space.

In the accompanying drawing, showing by way of example, several of many possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a fragmental central longitudinal vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, showing the storage bin and one form of handling means;

Fig. 2 is a plan of the same;

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view; 1

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view showing another form of apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of still another form ofapparatus; and

Fig. 6 is a front elevation of the apparatus of Fig. 5.

My improved apparatus of Figs. 1 to 3 is shown in combination with a storage bin or pocket 10 comprising vertical side walls 11, 12, 13 (Fig. 2) and a floor 1a (Fig. 1) provided with delivery openin s having slide gates 15 and 16 near the middle of the bin and near the middle of the wall 11.

A track 20 over the hopper receives a car 21-for discharging material into a hopper 22 over said gate 16 at the side wall.

A pair of approximately triangular spaced walls 25 of greater height than width, and each horizontally cut-0d at the upper part 26 and having a slanting edge 27 are joined by a narrow inner wall 28 at their vertical edges to form a narrow approximately triangularly shaped enclosure 30 open at said side edges 27 and disposed over said openings 15,16 with its tallest part under the hopper and its least tall part disposed near the middle of the bin. The edge 27 is shown steeper than the angle of repose.

A vertical series of downwardly and inwardly slanted separated staggered baffles secured between said triangular walls perpendicular thereto forms-a vertical telegraph spaced from said inner wall 28 and extend ing from said hopper to the opening 16 therebeneath, an intermediate part of each battle being beneath and spaced from the lower edge of the baflie just above thereby to form a flowage space for lowering the coal in a column from said hopper to the floor with little breakage, whereby the coal piles up in a somewhat right-triangular pile in the lower part of said enclosure forming a dead space 36 between said column and the outer part of the pile, the large pieces avalanching along said part to assume an angle of repose toward the open side depending upon the nature of the particular material, the fines sinking between the larger pieces at said column and at the inner side of the dead space, being separated and screened from the large pieces by said dead space.

Small pieces and the fines therein. may be from time to time removed from beneath said column and the inner side of the dead space through the door 16, the larger pieces from beneath the pile at the outer side of said dead space being removed through the door 15.

A plurality of separate avalanche plates 39, 10 mounted between and secured perpendicular to said triangular walls in'said enclosure and disposed different distances from the lower end of said column and along said open side substantially in conformity with the angle of repose of the material at such distances prevent spreading of the pile and grinding the material and cause the material to artificially avalanche down on the outer face of said plates with a decrease in breakage, until the lower part of said enclosure 30 is filled, whereupon the material will pile up along and in all directions (Fig. 2) from said slanting edges 27 at a natural angle of repose, beginning at the lower part of said open side and mounting up as said enclosure fills up, until the bin is substantially full.

Suitable anti-friction covering sheets of steel or the like may be provided on the battles, plates and walls where they are engaged by the coal or other material.

The method of operation will easily be understood from the foregoing and need now be only briefly summarized.

The baffles 35 cause gradually lowering the column of material from the chute 25 and the walls 25 confine the material in a narrow upstanding enclosure slanting and open at the edges 27, whereon said material piles up in said enclosure forming the dead space at 36 between said column and said edges, larger column as the pile builds up and finally sub-- stantially fills the bin.

The fines are removed at the foot of the column through the gate 16- and larger pieces are removed at the outer side of the dead space through the gate 15.-

The apparatus of Fig. 4 comprising baffle plates 35 for lowering a column of divided material "and walls 25 and 28 for confining said material in a narrow upstanding enclosure 30 enclosing the column as in Figs.

1 to '3; but in Fig.4, large plates 51, 52 and 53 secured acrosssaid enclosure form an upwardly pointed permanent dead space 56, in said enclosure near said column, the fines passing down between-the plate 53 and wall 28 to the gate 16, While the coarser material avalanches over the plates 51 and 52. In view of the plates 51, 52 I provide only the outer avalanche plate 40.

The apparatus of Figs. 5 and 6 has no telegraph 35, but the divided material is fed by hopper 22into the enclosure 30 between the walls 25 onto the screen 57, approximately at the angle of rest of the material when piled. The material slides down from hopper 22 along the screen'57 to the lower part thereof until the material is piled up along the screen from end to end thereof substantially at the angle of rest of the material. .Further material added throughhopper 22 builds up the pile under the hopper until this pile exceeds its angle of rest, whereupon the material will avalanche down over the lower material or the screen 57 to the lower part of the pile and there roll or avalanche off the edge 27, said edge being steeper than the angle of repose, converges toward the screen. The material will then roll oil or avalanche at the edge 27 first at thelowest point of the edge, gradually building a pile upwardly around said edge.

The screen 57'also serves for separating.

fines from the coarser material. Plates 62, 63 across said enclosure 30 form anupwardly pointed dead space 66- in said enclosureunder said screen for separating difli'erent grades of fines through the gates and 67, the coarse material being removed through the gate68.

The screen 57 may be made in a variety of ways,andis here shown as comprising aplm ralityojf parallel wires 70 :(Fig. 6.) .tensioned over end bridges 71 and -72 and secured to eye bolts 73 and adjustable strain bolts 74; but where the screen is used only toprovide the avalanching function described abo,ve, it is not necessary that it be perforated or other thanmerely. an inclined support.

.Vhile the edge 27 is here shown as av single continuous straight edge all of one angle, it is not necessarythat this edge be entirely in an unbroken straight line, but merely'that each. part of such edge shall be steeper than the angle of rest of the material used.

What I claim as my invention:

1. In combination, a storage bin comprising side walls;.a hopper over saidbin near the middle of one of the walls; and walls forming an approximately triangularly shaped enclosurewith its tallest part under the hopper and an open side slanting to near the middle of the bin. I

2. An apparatus for lowering broken material, said apparatus comprising a pair of spaced side walls each having a straight vertical edge, and a slanting edge steeper than,

the angle of reposeof said material upon itself; a narrow wall oining said Vertical edges and co-operating with the side walls to form a narrow approximately triangular space having a closed verticaledge and a slanting open edge steeper than said angle of repose; means for gradually lowering a column of the material in said space near said narrow wall, thereby to cause the material to pile up in said space with its exposed face toward 'said'open edge assuming successive contours disposed along the natural angle ofrepose of said material upon itself at said face; and spaced apart plates disposedtransversely across said space and secured to said side walls near and diilerent distances from said open edge'and different distances up and down said c0n tours approximately at the angle of repose of the adjacent part of the contours.

'3. An apparatus for lowering broken material, said apparatus comprising -a pair of spaced side walls each having a straight vertical edge, and a slanting edge steeper than the angle of repose of said material upon itself; a narrow wall oining said vertical edges and co-operating with the side wallsto form a narrow approximately triangularspace having a closed'vertical edge and a slanting open edge steeper than saidangle of repose; means for gradually lowering a column of the material in said. space near said narrow wall, thereby to cause the material to pile up in said space and in time to overflow at said slanting edges. 1

4.. An apparatus for lowering broken material, said apparatus comprising a chute having closely spaced side walls, each having a slanting upper edge steeper than the angle of repose of the material upon itself, the bottom of the chute being flatter than said angle; :means fortretarding the flow of material from the chute, whereby the material in the chute may pile up; the walls tapering toward the lower end of said slanting edge, the chute being deepest near the upper end of said edge and sufficiently deep to permit the material introduced into the chute to pile up sufficiently to avalanche; means for gradually lowering material into the upper end of said chute thereby to cause the material to pile up in said space with its exposed face toward the open edge of the chute, assuming successive contours disposed along the natural angle of repose of said material upon itself at said face; and avalanche plates disposed transversely across said space and secured to said side walls approximately at the angle of repose of the adjacent part of the contours, for controlling the avalanching.

5. An apparatus for lowering broken material, said apparatus comprising a chute having closely spaced side walls, each having a slanting upper edge steeper than the angle of repose of the material upon itself,

the bottom of the chute being flatter than said angle; means for retarding the flow of material from the chute, whereby the material in the chute may pile up; the walls tapering toward the lower end of said slanting edge, the chute being deepest n ar the upper end of said edge and sui'ficiently deep to permit the material introduced into the chute to pile up sufficiently to avalanche; means for gradually lowering material into the upper end of said chute thereby to cause the material to pile up in said space with its exposed face toward the open edge of the chute, assuming successive contours disposed along the natural angle of repose ofsaid material upon itself at said face; and spaced apart plates disposed transversely across said space and secured to said side walls near and different distances from said open edge and-different distances up and down said contours approximately at the angle of repose of the adjacent part of the contours, for controlling the avalanching.

6. An apparatus for lowering broken material, said apparatus comprising a chute having a level bottom, and side walls, each side wall having a slanting upper edge steeper than the angleof repose of the material upon itself; the walls tapering toward the lower end of said slanting edge, the chute being deepest near the upper end of said edge and sufliciently deep to permit the material introduced into the chute may pile up sufiiciently to avalanche; means for gradually lowering material into the highest part of said chute thereby to cause the material to pile up in said space with its exposed face toward the open edge of the chute, assuming successive contours disposed along the natural angle of repose of saidmaterial upon itself at" said face; and spaced apart plates disposed transversely across said space and secured to said side approximately at the angle of repose of the adjacent part of the contours, for controlling the avalanching. l

7. An apparatus for lowering broken material, said apparatus comprising a chute having closely spaced side walls, each having a slanting upper edge steeper than the angle of repose of the material upon itself, the bottom of the chute being level, whereby the material 'in the chute may pile up; the walls tapering toward the lower end of said slanting edge, the chute being deepest near the upper end of said edge and suiticiently deep to permit the material introduced into the chute may pile up sui'iiciently to avalanche; means for gradually lowering material into the upper part of said. chute to the bottom thereof, thereby to cause the material to pile up in said space with its exposed face toward the open edge of the chute, assuming successive contours disposed alon the natural angle of repose of said material upon itself at said face; and spaced apart plates disposed transversely across said space and secured to said side walls near and different distances from said open edge and different distances up and down said contours approximately at the angle of repose of the adjacent part of the contours, for controlling the avalanching.

8. In combination, a storage bin comprising side walls; and walls forming an approximately triangularly shaped enclosure with its tallest part near the middle of one side wall, and an open side slanting to near the middle of the bin.

9. In combination, a storage bin comprising side walls; a material supply means over said bin near the middle of one side; and walls forming an approximately triangularly shaped enclosure with its tallest part under the supply means and an open side slanting to near the middle of the bin.

10. In combination, a storage means com prising a level floor provided with a closable delivery gate and with a closable gate for fines remotely spaced from said delivery gate; a discharge means over said gate for lines; and walls forming a narrow enclosure over said openings.

11. In combination, a storage place comprising a substantially level floor provided with a delivery gate for lar 'e pieces and with a gate for lines remotely spaced from said delivery gate; a discharge means over said opening for fines; walls forming an approximately triangularly shaped enclosure over said openings with its tallest part under the discharge means and having an open side slanting steeper than the angle of repose of the material upon itself; and means extending from said discharge means to near the opening therebeneath for gradually lowering material, whereby the material piles up on said floor, the fines sinking at said opening for fines, the large pieces passing over the pile to assume an angle of repose toward the open side.

12. In combination, a storage bin comprising side walls and a flat floor provided with a'delivery gate for large pieces near the middle of the bin and with a gate for fines near the middle of the lower edge of one of the walls and remotely spaced from said delivery gate; a hopper over said opening for fines; and walls forming an approximately triangularly shaped enclosure over said openings with its tallest part under the hopper and having an open side slanting to near the middle of the bin at an angle steeper than the angle of repose of the material upon itself; laterally open means extending from said hopper to the opening therebeneath for gradually lowering material, whereby the material piles up on said flat floor, the fines sinking at said opening for fines, the large pieces passing over the pile to assume an angle of repose toward the open side; and a plurality of separated plates disposed different distances from the bottom of the column near said open side substantially in conformity with the angle of repose of the material upon itself. V

Signed at Plainfield in the county of Union and State of New Jersey this 10th day of July A. D. 1926.

HENRY ADAMS. 

